


Blind

by whiteraven05



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drama, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:07:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25574065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whiteraven05/pseuds/whiteraven05
Summary: Hermione asks Harry to Slughorn's Christmas Party, but Harry begins questioning whether she asked him to go as friends or as something more.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Comments: 5
Kudos: 138
Collections: flash harmony stories





	Blind

Harry was attempting to finish up his homework in the library, but he couldn’t concentrate on it at all. Across the room, Ginny and Dean were busy with their own studies, but Harry couldn’t pull his eyes away from their clasped hands. Over the last few months, he had started developing feelings for Ginny. It was unfortunate timing though, because at that point she had just started dating Dean Thomas. ‘What does she even see in him?’ Harry tried to push his thoughts aside and shook his head to keep focused on his studies. He looked back down at the blank piece of parchment in front of him and groaned in frustration.

“Dean, stop, not here. You’re going to get us in trouble,” Ginny giggled from afar.

That was it. Harry hastily gathered up his books and papers and retreated to another part of the library. He wasn’t going to sit back and listen to that for the remainder of the day. As he was walking away, he looked over his shoulder at the two getting awfully cozy, and it looked like they were about to engage in a snog session. His eyes were still locked on the couple when he bumped into someone and all their books landed on the ground with a thud. 

“Harry, please be a little more careful.” He knew that familiar voice too well. Harry bent down and began to pick up the books, when he saw his best friend standing over him. He gathered up all their belongings and handed over her books.

He apologized. “Sorry, Hermione. I, um I got distracted.”

With a raised eyebrow, she said, “I see that.” Hermione peeked over his shoulder and saw Dean and Ginny snogging in the corner. She shook her head and sighed, “They really need to take that elsewhere.” 

Harry again looked over at them and rolled his eyes at the sight. “I couldn’t agree more.” He turned back to Hermione. “I’m actually trying to finish up my Herbology homework right now. Care to help me out?” 

Hermione turned around and started to walk down one of the aisles. She began to put away her books as they floated up on to the shelves. Harry followed her closely behind, waiting for an answer. He desperately needed to get this homework done. 

“Oh, you need my help now?” she responded in an annoyed tone. She pulled a book off the shelf, and pretended to skim the first page. “What, the Half Blood Prince can’t help you out in Herbology too?” she quietly remarked. 

‘Is she really still upset about that?’ Harry continued to follow her. “C’mon, Hermione, please. I have all this homework, Quidditch practice tomorrow and I still have yet to find someone to bring to Slughorn’s party - I have a lot on my list to do. Don’t make me beg,” he pleaded with her. 

She turned around on her heel. She stared at him with wide eyes and smirked. “Oh that’s a brilliant idea.”

As she was taking a book off the shelf, she didn’t notice Harry start to sneakily close the small distance between them. He shook his head and gently rested a hand on her shoulder. Immediately, she looked up at him. 

A teasing smile formed across his face as he said, “I really didn’t want to do this, but I’ve wasted enough time as it is.” He left her no choice. ‘Oh, she’s going to get it now,’ he thought. 

Her eyes went wide in shock as she quickly pushed his hand off of her. She knew exactly what he was up to. She quickly backed away from him. “Oh no, you don’t. Harry James Potter, if you dare even think about it…” she warned him. 

With nowhere to escape, Hermione was backed up to the wall at the end of the aisle, she was trapped. Harry was stepping closer to her. Before she could even say another word, he lunged at her as his hands began tickling her. Hermione burst in to laughter. She giggled and squirmed to get away from him. His hands were tickling every inch of her, mainly above her ribs. He continued to tickle her sides as she tried her best to muffle her laughs, but she wasn’t too successful. 

“C’mon Hermione,” he teased her. “I could do this all day.” 

“Okay, okay, stop it!” Hermione squealed. 

“MISTER POTTER AND MISS GRANGER! THIS IS A LIBRARY, NOT A PLAYGROUND!” Madam Pince shouted at the two. 

Harry immediately took his hands off Hermione as they quickly straightened themselves up. The two quietly apologized and Madam Pince huffed and walked back to her desk.

Harry nudged her and grinned. “You’re always getting us in trouble.”

“Oh shut it.” Hermione frowned. “How do we get in trouble, and Ginny and Dean don’t? They’re over there snogging each others’ brains out.” 

The two gathered their belongings and walked over to an empty table to work on their homework. A few hours had passed by, and they were almost finished. Suddenly, Harry heard whispers from the table next to them. His eyes lifted off his paper for a second as he saw Romilda Vane and her group of friends. They were quietly talking and giggling amongst themselves, while sneaking glances over at him. 

“Harry, focus…” Hermione sternly told him. 

Romilda promptly stood up and walked over to their table. She stood over Harry, while he looked up at her. “Hi Harry, do you happen to have any ink that I could possibly borrow?” 

Before Harry could even respond, Hermione replied, “Nope, sorry. You can ask Madam Pince for any extra ink.” 

With a disgusted look upon her face, Romilda scowled at Hermione and left the two. Her friends got up from the table and followed her out of the library. 

Harry then looked back at Hermione. “Cruel much? What if I wanted to ask her to Slughorn’s Christmas Party?” 

Hermione genuinely said, “You don’t want to ask her, trust me. You know, she’s only interested in you because she thinks you’re the chosen one.” 

“But I am, aren’t I?” 

Hermione smacked his arm. 

“Ow, that hurt.” 

“Oh, be quiet.” 

Harry’s eyes darted back to his textbook, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He was at a loss as to who to bring to Slughorn’s Christmas Party. The girl that he liked was taken, and apparently, his best friend now was being over protective as to who should be his date. He didn’t think it would be this hard to find one.

“So, you still haven’t found a date yet?” Hermione inquired.

Harry was flipping through the pages of his text book as he responded, “Unfortunately, not yet.” 

“Do you want to perhaps go together?” she suggested.

Harry looked up from his book and his eyes met hers. ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ She was biting her lip as she awaited his answer. He grinned at her and happily said, “That’s a great idea. Now I won’t dread this party as much with you by my side.” 

“Great! See we’re knocking things off your to-do list one by one. Now you need to focus on your homework, mister.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied as he looked back down at his text book. ‘What would I do without her?’ he smiled to himself. 

— 

Harry and Ron were walking back from a lengthy and strenuous Quidditch practice. Ron kept trying to ask Harry for some relationship advice. Harry repeatedly told him that he hasn’t had much success in that area; and so, he should ask someone else for the advice.

“Ron, go ask your brothers. The last girl that I kissed ended up crying, remember?” 

“I just don’t understand girls, mate,” Ron groaned in frustration. “They play bloody mind tricks on you.” 

Harry laughed at his friend’s misery. To Harry, Lavender may be pretty and all, but she sounded like a lot of work. 

“We really do need to set you up with one of Lav’s friends,” Ron suggested, clapping a hand on Harry’s back. “Did you ever find someone to bring to Slughorn’s party? Maybe we can set something up?”

Harry was about to answer him, when all of a sudden, he got ambushed by three girls as soon as he entered the common room. “Harry!” Parvati, Lavender, and Padma called out to him all at once.

“Why didn’t you mention you were dating Hermione!? Now we can go on a double dates!” Lavender exclaimed. “There’s my Won-Won.” She wrapped her arms around Ron’s neck and greeted him with a peck on the lips.

Harry was stunned. ‘What! Me and Hermione?!’ He looked back and quickly caught a glimpse of Ron’s face and it was as red as his own hair. He knew he had to fix this mess before his best friend thought he went behind his back. 

Harry pushed past Padma and Parvarti and placed his broomstick on a nearby table. He folded his arms over his chest and asked, “What are you guys talking about? Did Rita write something up in the paper again?” 

Lavender pulled away from Ron and rushed over to him, while Padma and Parvati followed. They were all practically jumping for joy as they stood in front of him. “Aren’t you and Hermione going to Slughorn’s Christmas party? At least that’s what we heard,” Lavender questioned.

Ron grimaced as he muttered under his breath, “It’s probably just another stupid rumor.” 

“It’s not!” Parvati retorted back to Ron. 

Harry finally responded, “Yes, but we’re just going as friends.” 

“That’s not what I heard,” Padma giggled. 

Harry shook his head at them. His jaw tightened as he started to get annoyed. “Well, I don’t know who your sources are, but we’re just going as friends. So, you can stop spreading the rumors.” 

Parvati inquired, “But did she say you were just going as friends?”

Harry was about to reply, when he thought back on it. Based off his memory, he couldn’t recall. She didn’t say it was a date, but then again, she did not clarify they were going just as friends either. He nervously gulped. Did he say yes to a date with his best friend? He tried replay the moment back in his head, but he couldn’t think straight right now, especially with his red-headed friend practically shooting daggers his way. 

With Harry being so quiet, Padma interrupted his thoughts and said, “By the look on your face, I’m guessing that she didn’t.”

Shaking his head, he said, “Fine, I’ll just go find her and ask her right now. She’s probably in the library.” He started making his way towards the door. 

Lavender shouted at him, “No, don’t do that!” She quickly ran past Harry and blocked his exit. “What! Do you want to embarrass her?! This is Hermione, your best friend and you don’t want to see her get hurt, right?” 

“I’m not going to hurt her,” Harry replied.

Parvati and Padma walked up next to Lavender, making sure that he wouldn’t pass by. Parvati said, “Just let it be. Or maybe, us girls, can all ask her ourselves?”

Lavender shook her head at the two. “No, this is really none of our business, we just like good gossip. We can stay quiet on this, you can trust us, Harry.” 

Padma winked and clarified, “But if it is a date, we deserve to know first. ‘Cause you guys would make such a cute couple!” 

Harry deeply sighed, “If I can’t ask her directly, how do I even know if it’s a date?” 

Lavender grinned. “Easy. If she ends up flirting with you at the party all night, then obviously, it’s a date. If not, then you guys are just friends. Simple as that.”

Harry gave the girls an annoyed look before walking back over to grab his broomstick. “Fine. Just don’t bring up any of this to Hermione.” They promised that they wouldn’t say anything. Now hopefully, he could trust their word. With that, he started heading up the stairs for a much needed shower. Ron followed him. 

As they reached the top of the stairs, Ron nonchalantly said, “You know, she’s probably taking you just to make me jealous. Ever since I started going out with Lav, you know how she’s been lately. She’s been avoiding me. So don’t take it personally, mate, but she’s just wasting her time.”

While his friend seemed relaxed about it all, Harry knew deep down that he wasn’t. By the look on his face earlier, Ron definitely wasn’t over Hermione, but he wasn’t going question it any further. 

Instead, Harry replied, “I honestly think she just wants to go as friends, Ron.”

Ron shrugged at him. 

—

It was the night of Slughorn’s Christmas party, and Harry was just about ready to head down to the common room to wait for Hermione. He stared at his reflection in the mirror as he gently ran a hand through his untidy hair, trying to tame it. He was wearing black dress robes with a dark purple tie, and while he looked fine on the outside, he felt absolutely sick to his stomach. He just couldn’t stop thinking about how the night was going to play out. He tried his best to convince himself that it was not a date and that he had nothing to worry about.

“You alright, mate?” Ron asked suddenly. “You’ve been staring at yourself for like ten minutes now.” He walked up next to his raven haired friend and saw Harry’s distressed face in the mirror. “Quit stressing,” Ron told him. 

Harry groaned. “I just wish I knew whether I agreed to a date or not.”

Ron clapped a hand on his back and laughed, “This is Hermione, for bloody sakes. I’m telling you, she’s just trying to make me jealous. She’ll probably tell you all about her ‘brilliant plan to win me over’ on your way to the party. Trust me, no need to work yourself up.”

“I still feel like I should just be honest and ask-”

Ron cut him off, “No, don’t do that! Remember what the girls said? Besides, if you make her upset, do you really want her crying again like at the Yule Ball?”

“Well, that was your fault for making her cry,” Harry pointed out. 

“And it will be your fault for making her cry this time,” Ron retorted. “Like I said, it’s just Hermione, relax. It’s not like you love the girl or anything.” 

Now that he was thinking about, he never considered looking at Hermione in that way. She was always his best friend and she had always been Ron’s crush, so he never allowed himself to look at her as more than a friend. He thought, ’I mean, of course I love her, but just as a friend. I would do anything for her.’

“Right?” Ron asked again. Harry gave him a confused look, unsure of what they were even talking about. Ron repeated, “It’s not like you have feelings for her. She’s just our bossy, know-it-all friend.” 

Harry replied, “Uh, right. I better get downstairs.” 

Harry and Ron made their way downstairs to the common room where other fellow Gryffindors were hanging out. They walked towards Lavender sitting on the couch with her friends. She stood up and wrapped her arms around Ron’s neck. “Missed you, my Won-Won.” She gave him a quick kiss on the lips and then pulled at his arm for him take a seat with her. “Harry, you look quite handsome. I saw Hermione getting ready earlier, she sounds very excited for tonight,” she said and then winked at him. 

Harry nervously smiled at her.

Suddenly, all the chatting among the Gryffindors grew silent. Harry turned his head to see why the chatter had disappeared. There Hermione was standing on the last step of the stairwell, looking absolutely stunning. She was wearing a gorgeous peach cocktail dress that revealed a lot more skin than Harry was used to seeing on her. Her hair was delicately flowing in smooth curls around her face. He was shocked at the sight of her, and then an odd feeling rose within him. 

‘She looks… beautiful,’ he thought. 

Several students had gone over to Hermione and complimented her appearance. Harry straightened out his robes quickly and then walked up to her. He could hear her thanking everyone for all the compliments on her attire, when suddenly her sparkling brown eyes made contact with his emerald ones. He smiled wide at her. 

“You look handsome, Harry,” she said and returned his smile.

He wanted to tell her that she looked amazing, gorgeous, beautiful, or all of the above, but he had trouble formulating any words due to the lump that had formed in his throat. Finally, he had managed to start saying, “You look-”

Before Harry could finish his sentence though, Lavender shouted from the couch, “She looks beautiful! Doesn’t she, Won-Won?” Harry took that moment to glance over at Ron and saw that he wore the same shocked expression as he.

“She does… I mean, you do, Hermione,” Ron said almost dreamily. 

“Thanks,” Hermione replied, but ignored looking over in Ron’s direction. She kept her eyes on Harry and asked, “Ready to go?”

“Yeah. Shall we?” 

He put his arm out for her to take and she gladly did. Arm in arm, they began to walk out of the common room area. All of a sudden, he felt her hand slide down his arm and gently take hold of his hand. He didn’t know whether she was trying to make Ron jealous or not, so he allowed their fingers to intertwine. Perhaps, she may explain afterwards. He couldn’t help but notice, how her hand was so delicately soft and warm in his. She gave him a tight squeeze and leaned in close to him. They continued to walk out hand-in-hand with everyone whispering among themselves about what they had just witnessed. 

Harry took a final glance over his shoulder and saw Ron glaring at them as he shot up from his seat and stormed off up the stairs to the dorms. Harry sighed. There was no doubt, that tonight was definitely going to be full of surprises. 

— 

Harry and Hermione were walking down the corridor towards Slughorn’s office. She was talking about her arthimancy class, but Harry wasn’t really paying attention. His mind was elsewhere, specifically as to why she still had a good grip on his hand. If she had planned on only making Ron jealous, which she did, then surely she would’ve let go of his hand by now. Though, he had to admit that holding her hand didn’t make him feel uneasy at all. In fact, it felt natural and right in a way, but he couldn’t explain why. 

Hermione nudged his shoulder and asked, “Are you okay?” 

Harry replied, “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” 

“Because you’ve been very quiet this whole time,” she pointed out.

He reassured her, “I’m fine, Hermione.” 

She stopped in her tracks and dropped hold of his hand, only to give him a concerned look. He was confused as to why he missed the sudden warmth of her. Why was he feeling this way? Nothing’s changed between them, she was still his best friend. Harry could hear the sound of music and laughter grow louder in the hall as they were just outside of the party. 

Hermione asked, “I know when something’s bothering you. What’s wrong?” 

Harry looked down at his feet and then back up at her, concern was clear in her eyes. Again, he took notice of how beautiful she looked tonight. It was as if he had never truly seen her before. She was just so beautiful. He tried to control his thoughts. ’Stop, she’s your best friend, you can’t think of her this way.’ 

He smiled at her and said, “Truth is, um, you, you look very beautiful tonight, Hermione. You had me quite stunned from across the room before.”

She blushed a deep red and then averted her gaze elsewhere. She softly said, “Oh, Harry, stop.” 

“No, I’m serious, Hermione. You are absolutely beautiful tonight. I mean you always are, It’s just…” He paused for a second. Maybe he could find out if this was really all about making Ron jealous. He continued, “It’s just that you certainly caught Ron’s attention earlier. He’ll probably be leaving Lavender in a heartbeat.”

She finally looked back at him with a lifted eyebrow. “Oh, that wasn’t my intention. I don’t like Ron like that. I mean, I used to, but I haven’t in awhile.”

“Oh? You’ve been avoiding him lately, so I thought you were jealous maybe.”

“What! Of Lavender?!” she exclaimed and shook her head. “No, no, no. He doesn’t think that, does he?” Hermione covered her face with her hands out of embarrassment. “Oh god. I’ve been upset at him, because he hasn’t spent any time with us. He’s constantly with Lavender, and he hasn’t been the greatest friend lately.”

Harry understood now, well, at least for the most part. She wasn’t crushing on Ron anymore, but that still doesn’t explain why she wanted to hold his hand. Was that her way of flirting with him? Could this really be a date? 

Harry nodded. “You’re right. He has been rather busy.”

“I miss him... as a friend though,” she stated clearly. 

“He’ll come to his senses. At least, we have each other for now,” Harry said and then winked at her.

She crossed her arms over her chest and slightly frowned. “Until you find someone and you both end up leaving me alone in the dark.”

He frowned at her statement. ‘Did she really think that?’ 

He quickly responded, “Hermione, stop, that’ll never happen. You are way too important and you know that. And besides, some lucky guy will probably take you all to himself before I ever get too serious with a girl. You know, I haven’t had the best of luck in that area.” 

Her cheeks started turning red again and she couldn’t help but smile at what he said. “Any girl would be lucky to have you, Harry,” she sweetly replied as she raised her hand to gently brush a stray hair off of his forehead. He smiled contently at her touch. It was a gesture that she had done numerous times before, but this time it felt so different. Her fingertips lightly grazed against his lightning scar, and her touch was like fire. 

As she brought her hand back down, she grabbed hold of his hand again. “C’mon enough about Ron, let’s make this a fun night,” she said as she pulled him with her towards the party.

‘Again with the hand holding! Friends don’t hold hands, right?’ he thought. 

When they entered the room, they noticed that Slughorn’s once small office was now much larger. Gold curtains draped across the entire room, which made the party shine with such brilliance. Hanging from the ceiling were crimson colored lanterns softly glowing, which gave an amber-like hue to the entire room. Music was playing softly as fellow students and others were dancing in the middle of the room. Harry had to admit that it was all very romantic. He gulped at the thought. 

Immediately, they were stopped by Professor Slughorn. “Ah, Harry, m’boy! Miss Granger! Come, come,” he happily greeted the two. “Here, here, let’s quickly take a photo!” He flagged the photographer down and before Harry could say anything, he was blinded by a bright flash. Slughorn patted his back and exclaimed, “Ah! Harry, you two make such a fine, wise couple! After all, you said that she’s the best in your year, and you deserve only the best.”

‘Even Slughorn is convinced that we are couple…’ Harry groaned at the thought. Suddenly he felt Hermione lean closer to him. He could feel her warm breath against his ear as she whispered, “Did you really say that I was the best in our year?” 

He turned his head towards her. He didn’t realize how their faces were only inches apart. He could easily count every freckle upon her face. His eyes then lowered down to her lips, which were shimmering from the hint of lip gloss that she had on. That was the first time, he had ever noticed her lips. He almost wanted to capture those soft lips with his own. And he felt like his heart was going to explode from the amount of emotion building within. 

His jaw clenched as nervously responded, “Well, there’s no question that you are.”

Interrupting the two, Slughorn brightly said, “I really should go greet the other guests, but please do enjoy yourselves!” With that, Slughorn disappeared into the crowd. 

As soon as Slughorn left, Harry glanced down and noticed their clasped hands. No wonder Slughorn thought they were couple. At that point, he knew he had to find an excuse to separate them. “Um, Iet me go grab us some drinks.” Harry quickly dropped her hand and left before she could say anything to him. He needed to allow himself to think for a second without Hermione by his side. It was as if she was putting a spell on him, and he couldn’t think straight. He was so utterly confused. 

As he walked across the room, Harry noticed a couple fighting off to the side. It was Dean and Ginny. They were arguing, and Ginny looked like she was on the verge of tears. He couldn’t hear any of what was said between the two since the music was so loud. He took his eyes off of the distraught couple and spotted Neville who was serving drinks. 

“Hey Neville,” Harry greeted him. 

“Oh hey, Harry,” Neville said as he handed two cups over to him. 

“Fine! Leave, you selfish prick!” Ginny shouted from afar. Harry turned his head and saw Dean walking away, looking absolutely furious. 

Neville chuckled, “It’s not a party without some drama, right?”

Harry looked back at him and laughed. “I actually got some drama of my own.” 

“What’s going on?” he curiously asked. 

“You have to swear not to say anything to Hermione,” Harry pleaded. Neville gave him a confused look, but nodded. 

Harry explained his entire situation and how the Gryffindor girls convinced him to not say anything at all to spare Hermione’s possibly hurt feelings. He told him about how, at the beginning of the night, he had been feeling differently around Hermione, not like how he was used to. 

“What should I do? It’s not about whether I don’t know if this is a date or not anymore. I feel like I’m losing control of myself around her, and my thoughts are just... well, let’s just say, they’re running wild.” 

Neville shook his head and laughed. He replied, “It sounds like you’re starting to have feelings for her, Harry.”

He thought, ’No, I couldn’t, she’s my best friend… my best friend that I can’t stop staring at tonight.’ 

Neville continued, “I think at the end of the night, you should be honest with her about everything, and tell her how you feel. Just be yourself though.” 

“You’re right. I’ll just act normal, like there’s nothing odd going on. That won’t be hard at all,” he sarcastically said. “I better get back to her. Thanks for the advice, mate.” 

He turned around and walked back into the crowd. He found Hermione talking to one of Slughorn’s guest. “Oh there he is!” Hermione was pointing a finger towards his direction. He walked up to the two. “Harry, this is Eldred Worple. He’s a writer.” She took the glass from Harry’s hand and gave him an awkward look, as she tried to politely say, “He wants to write a book about you.” 

“Ah, yes Harry Potter. It’s a pleasure! Your friend has told me nothing, but positive things about you, my dear boy. You’re certainly heroic as she has said so herself! I would be delighted to tell the world about your life story, it would be an absolute honor,” Eldred passionately spoke. “We could set up some interviews and finish the book relatively-” 

Harry cut him off. “I’m not interested, sir.” 

“Your friend here said, that you would say that. But you do not realize how much gold you could make off this,” Eldred responded, trying to convince him otherwise. 

“Sorry, I’m not at all interested. Now if you will excuse us, we’re going to grab some food.” Harry replied in an annoyed tone. He took Hermione’s hand and led her away from the conversation. 

Once they were out of Eldred’s sight, Hermione apologized, “Sorry, I knew that you wouldn’t want to speak to him about that book, but I just couldn’t escape.” 

“It’s no problem.” They continued walking over to a nearby table. A smile spread across his face as he teasingly asked, “So, I’m heroic, huh?”

Hermione stopped in her tracks and immediately rolled her eyes at him. “I knew as soon as he mentioned that, you would bring it up. And technically, he said it, I just nodded along.” 

“So, you don’t think I’m heroic, then?” He pulled a frown on his face and attempted to look distraught. “After saving you from that bloody troll and everything, Hermione, I’m deeply hurt,” he teased her. 

She laughed, “Oh shut it, Harry… All kidding aside, you know, that I’m forever grateful for that night.”

“Yeah because, thankfully, we didn’t all end up dead,” he joked. 

“No, I mean yes, that too. But that was the night we became friends.” She paused briefly and then said, “And I cherish that more than anything.” 

“Me too,” he responded and without thinking, he squeezed her hand. He didn’t even realize they were holding hands again, he must be getting used to it now. With that thought, he immediately dropped her hand. “Um,” he uttered but he couldn’t find the words. His eyes found hers again. How did he never realize how captivating her eyes were? ‘Damn, Neville may be right,’ he nervously thought. He cleared his throat and said, “Let’s go find a table and eat, shall we?”

She nodded and followed him.

Over the next hour or so, Harry tried his best to keep his hand away from Hermione’s. He didn’t want them to start getting comfortable with holding each other’s hands like that. ’But if it is a date, she’d expect you to hold her hand,’ he thought to himself. At the beginning of the night, he was convincing himself that this wasn’t a date, but now, he slowly wanted it to be something more. He looked over his shoulder and saw Hermione at the dessert table. She was piling a bunch of sweets on a plate for them to share.  


All of a sudden, he saw Cormac McLaggen step up next to her. As Hermione continued to grab sweets, McLaggen started to converse with her. He was standing awfully close, in fact, so close that it put Harry at unease. He knew this sudden feeling too well, from when he would look at Dean and Ginny - he was jealous. Harry’s eyes were glued on the two. McLaggen’s hand raised up and rested on Hermione’s small back. Immediately, Harry’s fists clenched and his jaw tightened. Before he could even think of getting up from his seat, Hermione quickly pushed McLaggen’s hand off of her and stepped back from him. She shared a few words with him before hurrying back to Harry with a plate full of desserts. 

“Sorry I took so long, McLaggen was being… well, McLaggen,” she laughed slightly. 

“You want me to go talk to him?” Harry asked, trying to mask his own jealousy from before.

“No, no, it’s fine. I took care of it,” she reassured him. “Here, eat this.” She raised a pumpkin pasty to his mouth, and without another thought, he let Hermione feed him the sugary dessert. 

“That’s good,” Harry said with his mouth full. Then he just realized that she had just fed him that dessert. A romantic gesture. There was no doubt that she was flirting him… right? 

“Are you alright?” Hermione asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin. 

He nodded. His eyes wandered over to the middle of the room,where there was a floor filled with dancing witches and wizards. He felt inclined to ask her to dance. After all, if it was a date, it was only proper for him to ask, right? He look back at Hermione, and grinned at her. “Would you like to dance?” 

She didn’t hear his question though. Her eyes were on Ginny, who was sitting all alone at a table nearby. Harry spoke her name and Hermione’s eyes quickly shifted to him now. She apologized, “Huh? Sorry. I feel so bad for Ginny. It seems like Dean and her are fighting a lot more lately. ” 

Harry looked over at Ginny and then back at her. He shrugged. “They’ll work it out, don’t they always?” Did he really just say that? Was he actually over Ginny now?

“I hope so, I know I would hate to be stuck in a relationship like that… you know, the constant fighting and all,” Hermione sighed deeply. “I actually need to use the loo, but we should go over and talk to her. Why don’t you go over and I’ll catch up with you guys.”

“I can just wait for you to come back. I may say the wrong thing, you know how I am. Guys don’t do well with this kind of stuff,” he nervously chuckled. 

“Harry, that’s your best friend’s little sister. Do it for Ron, you know he would for you if you had any siblings.” She gave him a small smile and reassuringly patted his hand with hers on the table. “I’ll be quick, don’t worry. Now go be a good friend.” 

Harry groaned slightly. “Okay, fine.” As she was rising from her seat, he gently grasped her wrist and shot her a cheeky grin. “But you owe me a dance when you get back.” She beamed with pleasure and nodded. He let go of her wrist and she walked in the direction of the restrooms. 

When she was out of sight, he reluctantly rose from his seat and started making his way over to Ginny. If someone had asked him at the beginning of the night to spend some time with Ginny Weasley, he would have been there in a heartbeat. After everything that has happened now, he honestly couldn’t care less. He felt nothing at the sound of her name. She was simply just Ron’s little sister again.

He awkwardly waved at her and said, “Hey, anyone siting here?” He pointed to the empty chair next to her. 

Ginny looked up at him with red bloodshot eyes and a tear-stained face. It was clear to Harry that she had been crying beforehand. “Oh hey, Harry, no it’s just me here…all alone.” 

He took a seat next to Ginny and jokingly asked, “Do I need to go hex Dean?” 

She laughed softly, “No, it’s fine. He’s just being a git, like always.” 

He didn’t know what else to say to her. He had been pining after this girl for months, and now that he had the chance to possibly steal her away from Dean, he no longer wanted to. After a short silence between the two, he asked, “Do you want to talk about it?” 

She shook her head at him. “Not really.”

“Is there anything I can do?” 

Ginny wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. She tried to pull a smile on and said, “No, I’m afraid, Dean and I may be calling it quits soon if he doesn’t come around. I don’t know. Why do relationships have to be so difficult? I mean, is it really that hard to come across one decent guy?”

“Hey, we’re not all bad,” he chuckled softly. 

She quietly spoke, “You’re definitely not, Harry. You’re the best.” 

He shook his head. “Well, I don’t know about that. I have my dull moments.”

“No, you are though. Hermione’s lucky.”

He gave her a confused look. Did Ginny know if the two of them were on a date?

“Oh don’t give me that look,” Ginny laughed softly. She explained, “Well, Hermione’s had these two great boys in her life since first year. And over the years, it would only be a matter of time that she would fall for one of you. I love my brother and all, and he’s a good guy, but there’s no doubt it would be you, Harry. I mean, you two already act like a couple most of the time. ”

He questioned, “What makes you say that?”

“C’mon Harry, the girl has been by your side for years. Never once have you considered her to be something more?”

Harry couldn’t believe she was putting him on the spot like that. He could tell her the truth, which was, basically he just started to tonight. 

As if perfect timing, Neville walked up to the two and interrupted their conversation. “Hey, Harry, you may want to rescue Hermione. Cormac is trying to corner her under the mistletoe.” 

McLaggen again? He doesn’t quit. He quickly excused himself as he rose up from his seat and went to go look for Hermione. He looked all over for her, until he found her silhouette hiding behind some translucent curtains. He raised an eyebrow at her odd behavior. He took a glance around him and didn’t see McLaggen anywhere nearby. He walked behind the curtains, where Hermione’s eyes brightened up as soon as she saw him.

“Are you trying to avoid dancing with me?” he teased her. 

“No, no, I swear,” she reassured him. “I’m trying my best to hide from Cormac.” 

He took a peek from the curtains to look for McLaggen. As his eyes were searching the crowd, he said, “Just let me talk to him, I’ll easily get him to back off.” 

Hermione grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back from the opening. She crossed her arms over her chest and firmly said, “I don’t need you to argue with him, Harry. Besides, I can fight my own battles.”

“And yet, here you are, not fighting, just hiding,” he pointed out. 

Hermione shot him a glare. 

‘She looks cute even when she’s mad.’ Harry smiled to himself. 

Her annoyed expression faded away as she saw McLaggen’s shadow coming towards the curtains. “Oh god, here he comes.” Pulling at Harry’s sleeve, she tried to usher Harry out from the curtains, but Harry kept a firm stance. “C’mon, Harry,” she muttered to him and pulled at his sleeve again. He still wouldn’t budge. She let go of him and quickly ran out. Harry continued to stay put and waited to come face to face with McLaggen. 

“Ah, Potter, I was looking for-”

“I know exactly who you were looking for. Just leave her alone, alright?” Harry tried to reason with him calmly. 

McLaggen sniggered, “Calm down, trying to be a decent boyfriend, eh? I just wanted to chat the bird up, no harm, right?”

Harry questioned, “Boyfriend?”

“That’s what Hermione said earlier. Wait, are you two not together?” McLaggen asked with a sly smile. 

‘She called me her boyfriend,’ Harry repetitively thought. Perhaps, she did have feelings for him. He was absolutely convinced now that it was a date. He breathed out a sigh of relief at the thought.

“No, we are,” Harry quickly responded, before McLaggen got any ideas. “Now just leave her alone. Reserve keeper or not, do I need to make your Quidditch practices a living hell?” 

McLaggen glared at him and scoffed, “Fine.” He started to walk out from the curtains, before saying, “And just so you know, I feel like practices are about to get interesting.” 

Harry lifted an eyebrow at him.  
“I’m assuming Weasley doesn’t know about you and Hermione yet, right? I’d watch your back, he’ll be knocking you on your arse as soon as he finds out. That’ll be fun to watch at practice,” he cackled before striding off back into the party.

Harry’s fists clenched at his sides. McLaggen was right though. Harry had forgotten the one reason why he had never looked at Hermione as more than a friend… Ron. Perhaps, Ron could accept them being together. ‘Why must everything be so difficult?’ he thought to himself. 

He walked out from behind the curtains and noticed that the party crowd had gotten smaller. Several of the guests had already left to turn in for the night. His eyes wandered the room, looking for a certain brunette. He finally saw her standing near Ginny and Neville, fully engaged in a conversation. Harry slowly walked up to the group.

Once Hermione noticed him, she scolded him. “I told you to follow me.”

“Well, you should’ve already known that wasn’t going to happen,” he replied with a cheeky grin. He looked around the room and stated, “But, it looks like McLaggen left the party, so you’re welcome.” 

With a small smile, she quietly said, “Thank you.”

Neville looked at the two and asked, “Well, I was about to escort Ginny back to the dorms, you two coming along?” 

Hermione nodded at him and began to follow the two, until Harry gently took hold of her hand and pulled her back. She gave him a confused look. 

Shaking his head at her, he said, “Not so fast. You guys go ahead, Hermione still owes me a dance.” 

Ginny smiled at the two and then nudged Neville in his side. “C’mon Neville, I’m exhausted.” They said their goodbyes and retreated in the other direction. 

Hermione stared at Harry for a few seconds, before timidly asking, “You still want to dance? The music has stopped though.” 

“You don’t need music to dance. Now c’mon,” he told her softly. 

He grabbed her other hand and started to pull her towards him. She grudgingly allowed herself to be led into the middle of the room as Harry kept his eyes on her. He saw the curiosity in her brown eyes and she started biting her lip nervously. When they reached the middle of the room, his hands were still holding hers a he slowly started to sway them at arm’s length. Then without warning, he quickly spun her under his arm and pulled her close to him as they started to dance. She landed into his chest as he gazed down at her. “See, you don’t need music to dance,” he said with a cheeky grin. 

She looked up at him with shock in her eyes. “You’re a lot better at this than I recall. I may be the one stepping on your feet tonight,” she laughed lightly. 

“You can step on my feet all you want, Hermione.”

All of a sudden, music started to fill their ears once more. They both looked over and saw that the band gathered up again and started playing a slow, soft tune. A few of the remaining couples even wandered over to the middle of the floor to dance with Harry and Hermione. 

She smiled warmly at him. “It looks like you got the party going again.”

The pair of them kept swinging and swaying with an occasional twirl here and there. She was laughing out of amusement, and he wished he could hear that laugh all the time. It seemed with every twirl, they gradually would get closer than before. She was holding his gaze with those bright brown eyes of hers before she slid her hand further and rested it flat on his backside. Her face was only inches away from his before she slowly rested it on his shoulder. He could smell a faint scene of roses coming from her hair now. He couldn’t help but tighten his arm around her waist and pulled their conjoined hands closer to his chest.

They eventually transitioned into a slower swaying dance, spinning very slowly in a circle. He held onto her for dear life as if this would end tomorrow. The sides of their faces were resting against each other now as she easily whispered into his ear, “What’s on your mind?”

He wanted to tell her everything in that moment. He wanted to tell her how he was so confused at the beginning of the night, but that now, everything started to become so clear to him. He wanted her. He wanted her like he had never wanted anything before. 

When he didn’t reply right away, she pulled her face back a little and looked at him. “Harry?”

In that moment, his eyes wandered down to her lips again and he wanted so badly to kiss her right then and there. To kiss those soft lips and nothing else. 

He finally spoke, “Just that- just that I’m really happy I came with you tonight.”

She smiled at him. “Me too.”

Suddenly, she rose up on her tiptoes. Naturally, he leant down to try and claim her lips with own, but he just caught the corner of her lips as she awkwardly kissed the side of his mouth. Apparently, she was not leaning in for a kiss, she was just trying to give him a classic peck on the cheek.

Immediately, she stepped back from him. Her eyes were wide in shock. She looked at him as if he had suddenly grown tentacles. “What are you doing?” she said no longer in hushed tones. Her eyes were not blinking at all. 

‘Shit, shit, shit…’ was all he could think. He nervously bit the inside of his cheek. How did he misread all the signs? He didn’t though. He was at a loss of words as he felt himself grow hot under her deep stare. 

“Umm,” he began. “I’m sorry, Hermione.” 

With widened eyes still, she stood there in front of him and waited for him to give a further explanation. When Harry continued to remain silent though, she bit her lip and then swiftly turned on her heel to walk away. She glanced over her shoulder at him, her brown eyes meeting his emerald ones, before she turned and left him completely alone at the party. 

He was left standing in the middle of the floor while other couples continued dancing around him. What started out as an amazing night, ended so terribly. ‘Bloody hormones,’ he cursed at himself. He took a deep breath and started to head back to the dorms. He seriously hoped that she had gone straight to bed, so it would save him some embarrassment. 

— 

‘You just had to try and kiss her, you idiot,’ Harry blamed himself. 

With his shoulders slumped, he slowly walked into the dark common room area until he noticed a faint glow from the fireplace. As he turned the corner, he saw Hermione, still all dressed up, and patiently waiting for him on the couch. She tore her deep gaze away from the fire and looked over at him.

She slowly stood up and spoke, “We need to talk.”

He walked over to a nearby table and took off his robes. She quietly followed him over there, but kept a good distance from him. He really didn’t want to talk at all, at least not tonight. 

He deeply sighed, “Can we talk tomorrow? I’m exhausted and-”

She interrupted him. “We really need to talk, Harry.” She took a few steps closer to him and asked, “What happened tonight?” 

Harry nervously rubbed at the back of his neck. He turned his gaze towards the flames in the fireplace, so he could avoid looking at her. He explained, “You see, I didn’t know whether tonight was a date or not. At first, I didn’t even think about it and then people got inside my head and convinced me to rely on any signs. Any flirting, you know.” He paused and finally, shifted his eyes towards her. He quietly said, “I guess, I misread the signs.”

There was a long uncomfortable silence between the two. Harry started cringing at how long it was taking her to respond. 

With a questioning look on her face, she finally asked, “I was flirting with you?” 

He replied with a question. “You really didn’t notice?” He gave a breathy chuckle and continued, “You fed me dessert, Hermione. Even McLaggen said that you told him I was your boyfriend. What was I supposed to think?” 

A frown appeared across Hermione’s face as she clarified, “This is why I didn’t want you to talk to him. I only told him that to get him to stay away. That’s why I fed you like that, to make him believe that we were a couple.” She paused for a second and rolled her eyes. She said with a disgusted tone, “But obviously it didn’t work, if anything, I think it spurred him on.”

Confused even further, Harry inquired, “Then what about the constant touching, the handholding, all the compliments? The slow dance? I’m not imagining things, am I?”

Hermione nervously replied, “I-I just thought that we were comfortable with each other to do all those things.”

‘Of course, she did,’ Harry thought. He didn’t understand. He looked down at his shoes and then back up at her. He tried to hide his hurt feelings as he responded, “Right… So, this wasn’t a date, then?” 

“Oh, Harry…” Hermione said softly. “I only asked you because I overheard Romilda and her friends talking about sneaking you a love potion. I was just trying to protect you.” 

Harry stared at her in disbelief. This wasn’t happening. Anger had filled within him at her dishonesty, but he tried to push those feelings aside. In a sharp tone, he asked, “Why didn’t you just tell me the truth?” 

Sensing his anger, she retorted, “Well, why didn’t you?” 

There was another tense silence between the two. Honestly, he wasn’t mad at her about Romilda, he was mad at himself for trying to shift their friendship into the unknown. Their friendship meant everything to him. She meant everything to him. Instead of fighting with her, he tried to push his anger aside.

He calmly spoke, “I should have. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” she apologized quietly. 

He insisted, “Can we just put this all behind us and act like nothing ever happened?” 

“Harry, I don’t know if it’s as simple as that.” 

He sighed deeply and went over to gather his robes up off the table. He turned back to her and said, “Well, why don’t we finish talking in the morning? It’s getting late and I really would like to go to bed.” He walked past her, with their shoulders brushing for only a second, as he headed towards the boys’ stairwell. Before he could even take the first step though, her voice halted him.

“You wanted this to be a date, didn’t you?” 

He slowly turned around and stared at her. He tried to resist answering her. “Hermione…” 

She desperately pleaded, “Please, answer.” 

He scoffed at her, “Based off my actions tonight, I feel like you know the answer.” 

She argued, “But I need to hear it from you.” 

“It doesn’t matter at this point.”

“It matters a great deal.” 

“Why?”

“Because…”

“Because, why?”

“Because maybe deep down I wanted it to be too!” she exclaimed suddenly.

Finally, the truth had been spoken - he wasn’t crazy after all. He wasn’t seeing things. She felt it too. His heart was racing as he found the courage to slowly start coming towards her. He was giving her a look she knew too well. It was almost the same look as if he was about to suddenly tickle her mercilessly, except his eyes were different. He held a fiery gaze on her. He saw her bite her lip again as her eyes were staring him up and down. 

She nervously asked, “What are you doing?”

“I’m walking toward you.”

He stopped right before her. Their faces only inches apart as he leaned down slowly and saw her eyes close. Their lips were just barely touching. He heard her gasp as her breath hitched in her throat, and he could feel her hot breath against his lips. He knew it was now or never. After seconds had gone by with neither of them moving, Hermione’s eyes fluttered open. 

He whispered against her lips, “Are you going to run away this time?”

Without hesitation, she firmly pressed her lips onto his own. Harry couldn’t help but grin against her lips as he kissed her back eagerly. It was almost as if an electric spark emanated from their kiss, and he loved every second of it. Her arms suddenly went up around his neck as he instinctively slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. He softly bit her lower lip as she let out a small moan and parted her lips. He used his tongue to embrace hers, she tasted absolutely delicious, almost like pumpkin pasties. As his tongue was exploring her mouth, he felt her hand gently stroke the back of his neck. After a few minutes had gone by, Hermione broke their passionate kiss.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open again. She blushed a deep red and breathlessly spoke, “Um, wow.”

Harry chuckled, “I’ve been wanting to do that all night.” He leaned down again for another kiss, but she stopped him by placing a finger gently on his lips.

“Wait. I need to know…” She looked up at him with uncertainty in her brown eyes. “What’s changed? I mean, we’ve been friends for so long. Why suddenly tonight?”

He deeply sighed. “I don’t know, it’s almost like I was seeing you for the first time. I mean, I feel like I finally know what makes me happy and it’s been you. All this time. It’s you, Hermione. And whatever this thing is between us, I think it’s always been there - we just didn’t see it.”

She smiled sweetly at him and then quietly said, “You know, we’re taking a big step here.”

With a smirk, he asked, “So does that mean, we’re doing this?”

She leaned close and answered his question with a softer kiss this time. She whispered, “Yes, we owe it to ourselves to figure out what this is.”

He leaned his forehead against hers. He softly asked, “Will you come to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?” 

She eyed him playfully and started saying, “As friends or-”

He groaned at her and smiled. His grip tightened on her waist as he said, “Don’t tease me, Hermione. Not after you’ve been teasing me all night.” 

She replied, “Hey! That was all unintentional.” 

“Oh, I’m sure it was,” he sarcastically said. 

“But to answer your question, I’ll go with you. On one condition though… no more spontaneous tickle fights in library, please.” 

“What! I feel like I’m obligated to tickle you though,” he chuckled lightly. “Plus, now, I won’t be able to keep my hands off you.” Suddenly his hands slid from her waist to her ribs. His fingers lightly stroked there for a few seconds. “Actually, I think I may just-”

She quickly pushed him away and escaped his grasp. “Harry James Potter don’t you dare!” she warned him, while grinning at him. 

As soon as he took a step towards her, she quickly ran behind the couch as he chased her down. He cornered her in front of the couch as he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. She tried to dodge him, but she was unsuccessful. He gathered her up in his arms and began tickling her sides as she squirmed and giggled. The two fell on to the couch with Harry on top, laughing hysterically. After a few seconds, the laughter died down and their faces were so close again. He swept away a loose strand of her hair that had fallen in front of her face. Then he cupped her face with his soft hand as he gently stroke her cheek with his thumb. Slowly he touched his lips to hers again. Hermione melted into the kiss. Harry took his lips away, only to start trailing soft open mouthed kisses down her neck. Hermione moaned softly while her grip on his waist had tightened. 

His lips found hers again and she smiled against his lips. She whispered, “I think deep down I’ve always wanted this, I was just too blind to see it.” 

“Me too,” he grinned.


End file.
